The Flora Children Chronicles

Chapter 1: The Face in the Mirror

Lily stared forlornly from the window in the train cabin. Her two sisters were elsewhere, and Lily was fine with that. Mari was probably hiding in a dark place with a boy or two somewhere on the train, and Rose was probably planning what she could add to her garden. Lily leaned back in her seat and sighed happily. She preferred her sisters to most people, but she preferred emptiness to her sisters.

And now that I'm alone… she pulled from her knapsack a small, round mirror. It was an unadorned mirror, no intricate carvings or even a handle to hold it. But its simplicity hid a secret. Something peculiar had caught her eye when she had purchased it at the pawnshop. Something— or was it someone?

Her fingers stroked its back as she gazed intently into the silvery depths. She saw her own face: the sad blue-gray eyes, the tumbling cinnamon-brown hair. But as she watched, her eyes turned a shining emerald in the mirror. The face seen in the mirror turned a light chestnut. Freckles spilled across the nose and cheeks as a shock of wavy, forest green hair fell into its eyes. The mouth parted in a smile, revealing pearly white teeth. "Hello!" it chimed.

Lily started from the trance that had taken her as she'd watched her reflection distort. "Wha-wha-wha…" she stuttered, unable to form words.

The figure pushed back a strand of hair and laughed happily. "Is it finally time? Did you finally come to unlock me from this place- oh, this hateful, spiteful mirror…" She paused, and her eyes brightened. "All right! You can get me out of here now!"

"I… think you have the wrong person. Who— no, what are you?" choked Lily.

"I don't care! Hurry and get me outta here. This place is so cramped!"

"But I— but you— but…" She finally shook her head. "Tell me who you are."

"If you insist," sighed the person in the mirror, rolling her eyes.

"My name is Ivy-Blossom. I am a fairy and I've been cursed into this dreadful scrap of glass you call a mirror.

"I was cursed here by a warlock named Takn. I used to be his helper but one day he just… I don't know, he lost it. Started talking to himself about how no one else appreciated his genius. I tried to ask him to tell me, but he cursed me into this mirror. Last I heard he was vanquished in a battle long ago. I was left on his table in the wizard's tower for quite a while before a Wiccan called Jezabelle found me. She didn't look at me very carefully, but she could feel my magic energy. I was then sold at a pawnshop for Ÿ34, and made to sit in a small pouch with a bunch of powders.

"I've been waiting so long for someone to— hey, who's that?"

Lily whipped around and saw her sister, Rose, knocking on the door. "Hold on!" she hissed at Ivy-Blossom and tucked her into her knapsack. Rose opened the door.

"Hello, dear sister. How are you doing?" Rose's thick auburn hair tumbled softly form where it was held in place by a barrette. Her brown eyes were always sparkling mischievously, and today was no exception. Her knee-length red dress was jazzed up by bright pink sequins stitched in the shape of a rose in the bottom right corner, as well as her pink-and-white striped necktie tied in a bow around her waist. She was wearing her favorite crimson patent-leather boots, the ones that came up to her knees. A long, fingerless, almost see-through red glove on one arm completed the look.

Rose perched delicately on the end of the sofa-like seat. "I was worried that you'd be lonely back here, all by yourself, but now I find you looking in a mirror. Why hide it, Lily? It's just a mirror."

Lily slowly breathed. "Rose, I wanna show you something quite odd." Reaching into the knapsack again, she pulled out her mirror. "Ivy-Blossom, you can come out now. My sister is here," she said to the mirror.

Rose looked at the mirror, gave her sister a doubtful look, and stood to leave. "Look, it was your idea to leave. Don't get all psychotic on me, sis." Turning to Lily, Rose gave her a hug. "Don't worry about anything, Lily. I'm sure the new school will be fine."

Lily waited until Rose left and then glared at the mirror. "Ivy-Blossom, I know you're listening! Get out here!"

Tentatively, her elfin face appeared. "You called?"

"My sister thinks I'm crazy now, and it's all your fault." Lily growled.

"If it's any comfort to you, I already thought that you were crazy—"

"Shut up!" Burying her face in her hands, Lily exhaled angrily. "What am I doing? I'm fighting with a mirror?! This is stupid. A dream. I wanna wake up now…"

Ivy-Blossom looked down sadly. "It's not adream," she murmured. "It's a nightmare."

OOC: So, what do you think? I don't know if I like the title or not, but I am working on it. I'll probably average a chapter a week, so email me with a rating or a question at